Why does the computer make beeps?
These are encrypted error codes by which you can determine what exactly happened to your computer.
When you press the power button on the computer, the motherboard and its internal program, the BIOS, begin their work first. The BIOS checks all the connected hardware of your computer for operability. If something important does not work, it gives errors and if it cannot show them on the screen, then it does this with the help of sound signals.
1. LOOK FOR BIOS MANUFACTURER
To understand what beeps mean you should know what BIOS you have inside the PC. To do this, look at your motherboard (pic. 2) and look for its specification on the internet (watch video). Find a site, preferably an official one, with its characteristics. For example, if the motherboard is Asus, then we look at the Asus website. Look for the instruction, and there is a specification. You can find the BIOS section - and see that AMI BIOS is installed.
2. DECIPHER THE BEEP ERROR CODE
Sound signals after turning on the PC may include long and short beeps, similar to Morse code. With next tables try to find which problem do you have...
| AMI BIOS | |
|
1 short 2 short 3 short 4 short 5 short 6 short 7 short 8 short 9 short 10 short 11 short 1 long and 2, 3 or 8 short |
No startup errors Problems with RAM modules Another kind of RAM failure System timer failure CPU issues Keyboard issues Faults in the motherboard Video memory issues Error in BIOS firmware Error writing to CMOS memory Issues with external cache Problems with the computer's video card |
| IBM BIOS | |
|
1 short 1 signal and blank screen 2 short 3 long 1 long 1 short 1 long 2 short 1 long 3 short Repeating short Continuous Missing |
Successful POST Faulty video system Monitor not connected Motherboard or keyboard controller Faulty motherboard Faulty video system (Mono/CGA) Faulty video system (EGA/VGA) Power supply failure or motherboard Problems with the power supply or motherboard Faulty power supply, motherboard or speaker |
| AWARD BIOS | |
|
1 short 2 short 3 long 1 short 1 long 1 long 2 short 1 long 3 short 1 long 9 short Repetitive short Recurring long Repetitive high-low frequency Continuous |
Successful POST Minor bugs found Keyboard controller error RAM error Video card error Video memory error Error while reading from ROM Problems with the power supply or RAM RAM problems CPU issues Problems with the power supply |
| AST BIOS | |
|
1 short 2,3,4,5 short 6 short 9 short 10 short 11 short 12 short 1 long 1 long 1 short 1 long 2-4 short 1 long 5 short 1 long 6 short 1 long 7 short 1 long 8 short |
Processor failure Keyboard controller errors System board error Faulty BIOS ROM chip System timer error Chipset error Non-volatile memory error DMA controller error 0 DMA controller error 1 Video card and memory problems Memory error 64K Interrupt vectors not loaded Video device not initializing Video memory error |
| COMPAQ BIOS | |
|
1 short 1 long 1 short 2 short 1 long 2 short 7 signals 1 long standing 1 short 2 long |
No errors CMOS BIOS checksum error (possibly dead battery) Global error Video card initialization error AGP video card failure RAM error RAM failure |
| Quadtel BIOS | |
|
1 short 2 short 1 long 2 short 1 long 3 short |
No errors found, PC is OK CMOS RAM is corrupted Video adapter error One or more of the peripheral controllers is faulty |
| DELL BIOS | |
|
1-2 1-2-2-3 1-3-1-1 1-3-1-3 1-3-3-1 1-3-4-1 1-3-4-3 1-4-1-1 |
Video card not connected BIOS ROM checksum error DRAM update error Keyboard error 8742 Faulty memory RAM error on line xxx RAM error on low bit xxx RAM error on high bit xxx |
| INSYDE BIOS | |
| 5 short 1 long 4 short, 1 long, 1 short 4 short and 2 short 3 short, 1 long, 2 short 3 short, 1 long, 1 short 3 short, 2 long, 1 short 3 short, 2 long 2 short, 1 long, 3 short 2 short, 1 long, 2 short, 1 long | | Problems with DMA | RAM not working | BIOS memory failed test | CMOS RAM error | DMA controller error | Processor failure | Keyboard issues | Video card not detected | RAM not defined |
| Phoenix BIOS | |
| 1-1-2 1-1-3 1-1-4 1-2-1, 1-4-1 1-2-2 or 1-2-3 1-3-1 1-3-3 or 1-3-4 1-4-1 1-4-2, 4-3-1 1-4-3 1-4-4 2-1-1,2,3,4 2-2-1,2,3,4 2-3-1,2,3,4 2-4-1,2,3,4 3-1-1 3-1-2 or 3-1-4 3-2-4, 4-2-3 3-3-4 3-4-1 3-4-2 4-2-1 4-2-2 4-2-4 4-3-2 4-3-3 4-4-1 4-4-2 4-4-3 Long signals Siren HF to LF
Continuous signal | | Processor test error. The processor is defective. | Error writing/reading data to/from CMOS memory. | Error calculating the BIOS checksum. | Motherboard initialization error. | DMA controller initialization error. | RAM refresh circuit initialization error | Error initializing the first 64 KB of RAM | Motherboard initialization error. | Memory initialization error. | System timer initialization error. | Write/read error to/from one of the I/O ports | Error when reading/writing bits 0-3 of the first 64 KB of RAM | Error when reading/writing 4-7th bits of the first 64 KB of RAM | Error while reading/writing bits 8-11 of 64 KB RAM | Error while reading/writing bits 12-15 of 64 KB RAM | Error initializing the second DMA channel. | Error initializing the first DMA channel. | Keyboard controller initialization failed. | Video memory initialization error. | Serious problems when accessing the monitor. | Cannot initialize video card BIOS. | System timer initialization error. | Testing completed. | Crete. error when switching the processor to protection. mode. | Error initializing the first timer. | Error initializing the second timer. | Error initializing one of the sequences. ports. | Parallel port initialization error. | Math coprocessor initialization error | The motherboard is faulty. | Faulty video card, check capacitors
| The CPU cooler is not connected (faulty). |
| UEFI BIOS | |
| 1 short 2 short 3 long 1 short + 1 long 1 long + 2 short 1 long + 3 short 1 long + 9 short Continuous short Continuous long beeps Variable long and short Continuous signal | | Download successful | There are non-critical errors. | An error was thrown by the keyboard controller | Faulty RAM | The error is signaled by the video card | Video memory error | Error while reading from ROM | Power supply or RAM failure | RAM problems | Processor failure | Problems with the power supply |
3. SOLVE THE PROBLEM
When you understand the code you should know what component is corrupt. Try to do this:
-
remove it, wipe contacts and insert again
-
borrow another one and try to change yours
-
check the capacitors for condition so that they are not swollen
-
try to change BIOS battery